Wet weather gear

Wet weather supper!We really could do with some warm weather, couldn't we? But there is nothing much better than food to keep us feeling a bit chipper whilst stuck indoors. And to be able to do a bit of scratch cooking helps it all along, too! Tonight sees us the hosts to 2 of Harley's friends and I like to be able to keep my guests happy whether they are 9 or 79! Bread making is one of my favourite

The best in homemade

Our allotment has been rather neglected over the last four weeks. Firstly the weather has not helped, has it. Any spare moment has not been the right moment! Away for a week in Scotland and a shoddy back all made for lots of thistles and weeds strangling all sorts of things! Or strawberries had been green a couple of weeks ago and upon being there yesterday we found they had ripened, producing some

Cupcake wars!

I have long since been making a cake in a muffin tin but not calling it a cupcake. The term has exploded in to people's consciousness and become big business in more ways than just making them. Aside from that, it has also been a bugbear of mine though, when people call an individual cake a muffin. Here we have 2 completely different animals one made with a different method to the other, producing

swindon web TV

I have had a great day today! I did a little filming with Swindon Web TV at a lovely garden centre near Swindon called John Toomer.I did a little interview with a charming chap called Alastair Greener for the online TV channel last month at Stanton House Hotel in their Yakiniku restaurant. We had an excellent experience in this unusual setting grilling our own meats and eating them with pickles and

biscuit or cookie?

The term cookie really irritates me. About the same amount, actually, as when someone calls a cupcake a muffin. There are differences, aren't there? I don't mind any or all of these name tags but it would be great if they were attributed to the correct thing!I believe that the term biscuit originates from the Middles Ages and from the word bisquite. It also takes roots from the word bescuit which,

Gotta love the rain!

Today took a lovely, unexpected turn. My friend's daughter spent the morning with us and then the rain decided to visit too! All a fabulous recipe for doing some baking, me thinks!I have a really small house with 2 cupboards full of baking ingredients, both of which get topped up when I write recipes. So I dug deep down and found all sorts of jewels. Well, maybe I mean many bags of opened flaked almonds,

retro living

In our house, what could be classed as retro food has never really gone out of fashion! I love the kitsch dishes of the 70's and 80's, they bring back good memories of some of my childhood food revelations!Whilst shopping today, I spotted shell on prawns that Harley was keen on buying for our lunch.I was going to eat the little chaps cold with some lemon but looking at them shot me back to about 1987

left overs!

It seems a crying shame to me to put any sort of food in the bin! And there is something inherently satisfying about making a meal from bits and pieces left behind from headier times.I love making a really simple soup with a cooked chicken carcass. Just strip off any left over cooked meat, bubble the bones in water with some vegetables - if you want. Then dice things like carrots, onions, mushrooms,

gifts for friends!

I love nothing more than taking something home-made as a gift when invited out to supper. Quite often, taking wine or a bottle is kind of redundant as the host will have most likely shopped for everything anyway!So, our friend whom we visited tonight, really loves shortbread and brownies. And luckily for me, particularly the ones I make. So my son, Harley's choice was to take some shortbread. I bought

blast from the past

New Year's resolution....write more blog posts!Anyway, out at my friend Sally Ann's house for lunch today was a fun affair. Not only did we visit people we love being with but we ate great food and met their crazy Aunt Liz.We have heard so many incredible and unbelievable stories about her, it was good to finally put a face to the name. Seventy something and from a farming background, she was lively